Local government in Scotland comprises 32 unitary local authorities, responsible for the provision of a range of public services. Local authority areas (also known as council areas) reflect the geographical diversity within Scotland with wide variations in size (from 60 square miles in Dundee City council area to 25,656 square miles in Highland council area) and population (from under 20,000 people in Orkney Islands council area to over 600,000 in Glasgow City council area).

Scottish Parliamentary Constituencies represent the constituencies of the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood. There are 73 constituencies in Scotland, each electing one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP). These boundaries are managed and subject to periodical reviews by the Boundary Commission for Scotland.

Delivery of frontline healthcare services in Scotland are the responsibility of 14 regional National Health Service (NHS) Boards that report to the Scottish Government. The boundaries of NHS Health Boards in Scotland are defined by National Health Service (Variation of Areas of Health Boards) (Scotland) Order 2013 (SSI 2013/347), which came into force on April 1st 2014, and replaces the previous definition based upon the former Regions and Districts of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973. This change was made in order to re-align Health Boards with the combined area of each Council Area that they serve.

Electoral Wards represent the areas served by councillors at local government level; there are 354 Electoral Wards covering the whole of Scotland. Each Ward usually elects three or four councillors to represent that area. They are often referred to as Multi Member Wards. These boundaries are managed and subject to periodical reviews by the Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland.

Community Health Partnerships were subdivisions of Health Boards, responsible for developing and delivering local community health services, from 2005 until April 2015, when their functions were taken over by Integration Authorities.

Intermediate Zones are a statistical geography that sit between Data Zones and council areas. Intermediate Zones are often used for the dissemination of statistics that are not suitable for release at the Data Zone level because of the sensitive nature of the statistic, or for reasons of reliability. Intermediate Zones were designed to meet constraints on population thresholds (2,500 - 6,000 household residents), to nest within council areas, and to be built up from aggregates of Data Zones. Intermediate Zones also represent a relatively stable geography that can be used to analyse change over time, with changes only occurring after a Census. Following Census 2011, there are now 1,279 Intermediate Zones covering the whole of Scotland.

Intermediate Zones are a statistical geography that sit between Data Zones and council areas. Intermediate Zones are often used for the dissemination of statistics that are not suitable for release at the Data Zone level because of the sensitive nature of the statistic, or for reasons of reliability. Intermediate Zones were designed to meet constraints on population thresholds (2,500 - 6,000 household residents), to nest within council areas, and to be built up from aggregates of Data Zones. Intermediate Zones also represent a relatively stable geography that can be used to analyse change over time, with changes only occurring after a Census. Following Census 2011, there are now 1,279 Intermediate Zones covering the whole of Scotland.

Data Zones are the primary geography for the release of small area statistics in Scotland and are widely used across the public and private sector. They are composed of Census Output Areas and are large enough that statistics can be presented accurately without fear of disclosure and yet small enough that they can be used to represent communities. They are designed to have roughly standard populations of 500 to 1,000 household residents, nest within council areas, have compact shapes that respect physical boundaries where possible, and to contain households with similar social characteristics. Aggregations of data zones are often used to approximate a larger area of interest or for a geography that statistics wouldn’t normally be available for. Data Zones represent a relatively stable geography that can be used to analyse change over time, with changes only occurring after a Census. The 6,505 '2001 Data Zones' were based on the 2001 census. Following Census 2011, there are now 6,976 Data Zones covering the whole of Scotland.

Data Zones are the primary geography for the release of small area statistics in Scotland and are widely used across the public and private sector. They are composed of Census Output Areas and are large enough that statistics can be presented accurately without fear of disclosure and yet small enough that they can be used to represent communities. They are designed to have roughly standard populations of 500 to 1,000 household residents, nest within council areas, have compact shapes that respect physical boundaries where possible, and to contain households with similar social characteristics. Aggregations of data zones are often used to approximate a larger area of interest or for a geography that statistics wouldn’t normally be available for. Data Zones represent a relatively stable geography that can be used to analyse change over time, with changes only occurring after a Census. The 6,505 '2001 Data Zones' were based on the 2001 census. Following Census 2011, there are now 6,976 Data Zones covering the whole of Scotland.

Integration Authorities correspond to the local partnerships of NHS and local council care services that are jointly responsible for the health and care needs of patients. There are 31 such areas in Scotland, aligning with existing council area boundaries, with the exception of the Clackmannanshire and Stirling area, which combines the two corresponding council areas.

Settlements are defined as built-up areas of 500 people or more, with larger settlements divided into localities to reflect areas which are more easily identifiable as the towns and cities of Scotland.

Settlements are defined as built-up areas of 500 people or more, with larger settlements divided into localities to reflect areas which are more easily identifiable as the towns and cities of Scotland.

Travel to Work Areas have been developed as approximations to self-contained labour markets reflecting areas where most people both live and work. TTWA boundaries must be non-overlapping and internally contiguous, covering the entire UK between them. TTWAs are permitted to cross national boundaries. This collection contains only those TTWAs covering Scotland, but includes two areas that cross the Scotland-England border.

For reporting and statistical purposes, schools are grouped by the responsible council. There is also a group of grant-aided schools that are independent of local authorities and are supported financially by the Scottish Government. Often these schools provide education for children and young people with additional support needs. The 'National' group of schools incorporates all the other groups, to provide statistics for all of Scotland

Licence

The boundary data used in this page has been generalised (simplified) for use in web maps. For fully detailed boundary polygons and other useful geographical information, see http://spatialdata.gov.scot. The geographical data on this page is available under the Open Government Licence. If you republish this data you must include the appropriate attribution statement:

Downloads

Managed by the Scottish Government, this site provides a range of official statistics about Scotland from a variety of data producers, for information and re-use. Read more about the site, or get in touch: statistics.enquiries@gov.scot.